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Death Toll Climbs To 205 Victims In Train Crash

KHANNA, INDIA — Rescuers using cranes and blow torches cut through the wreckage of two trains Friday, recovering bodies trapped in the mangled debris of a deadly rail disaster.

So far, 205 bodies have been pulled from the wreck in the wheat-trading town of Khanna in the northwestern state of Punjab. Ten more passengers are feared dead in the debris, said S.P. Mehta of Indian Railways.

Only slightly more than half the bodies have been identified.

The Calcutta-bound Sealdah Express collided with cars that had uncoupled from the Frontier Mail en route from New Delhi and toppled into the path of the oncoming train on a parallel track Thursday.

No survivors have been found since Thursday. Officials said 260 people were injured and about 30 were in critical condition. Teams of doctors operated all night Thursday, amputating the legs or hands of some victims.

Nearly 1,500 grieving relatives converged on Khanna on Friday to find survivors or identify the dead.

India records around 300 accidents a year on its railways, the largest rail network under one management in the world. Most are blamed on human error or outdated equipment.